Sign Of Progress

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 10, 20 October 1948, Page 4

Sign Of Progress

GROWTH OF INNES’S ENTERPRISES A matter of more than passing interest in the South Auckland province, as it demonstrates the general development and expansion that is going on in the area, not only in farming but in industrial enterprise, is the proposed reconstruction and capital increase of Messrs C. 3L. Innes and Co. Ltd., brewers and cordial manufacturers. As a matter of historical interest, this firm is undoubtedly the oldest in the Waikato, being established in 1868 at Ngaruawahia when the first droops came into the Waikato during the Maori wars. It is difficult to realise, when motoring along excellent roads through smiling farms and thriving progressive towns that barely 80 years ago the Waikato'and the King Country were virgin country of bush untamed rivers and warring Maori tribes, while the Bay of Plenty was largely raupo swamp. It was not until the present century had got well into its stride that the great potentialities of the area commenced to be appreciated. Now the point has been reached when it is sometimes referred to as the dairy farm of the world. To service the growing farming development, but lagging behind, came industry. The lag of industry and business was natural. Development required money and there was not a great deal to spare in those days, and the main cities could supply the needs. Because of this, business enterprise had an even leaner time than farming. But today business has caught up and can supply locally all demands and needs. Innes’s is typical of the fortunes of many old established firms in the district. It probably had an even leaner time than most, but today its strength is such that it has branches in many towns in the Waikato, King Country, Bay of Plenty and North Auckland districts, and has even strongly established itself in the heart of its old business rival, Auckland. To keep thoroughly abreast of the times this company has imported £70,000 worth of machinery, which will give it the most up-to-date plant in the Dominion, has a large building programme in view and has obtained leading cordial and brewing specialists from overseas for the manufacture of its products. The company’s records, of the last 20 years fully justify the directors’ vision and enterprise, while another matter to be commended is that, mindful that they are engaged in South Auckland trade, and desirous of returning the profits in the district in which they are established they stipulated that only people resident in that area will be permitted to take up the new shares. The fact that a £60,000 issue of capital can be taken up in the Waikato, King Country and Bay of Plenty without any direct approach or intensive salesmanship shows that the district has not only grown up "financially but is' also commencing to interest itself in commercial undertakings. Farming and com-, merce mutually supporting and dependent on each other will tend to make the district even more consolidated and self dependent and better able to stand the vicissitudes of primary produce market fluctuations.